Non-woven blanket fabric and method



July 30, 1968 c. D. OWEN, SR

NON-WOVEN BLANKET FABRIC AND METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 6, 1967OBVERSE INVENTORI CHARLES E. OWEN, 62.

ATTORNEYS C. D. OWEN, SR

ilO1 l-\JOVEN BLANKET FABRIC AND METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct.

CAENNQ ii CROSS LAPPING srvrcmma STITCHING w NEEDLING s (-UP F'JL'W r 'ww MEEDLINQ rill! L ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,395,065 NON-WOVENBLANKET FABRIC AND METHOD Charles D. Owen, Sr., Biltmore, N.C., assignorto Beacon Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 6,1967, Ser. No. 673,315 5 Claims. (Cl. 161-50) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREAn improved non-woven fabric adaptable for use as a blanket andparticularly characterized by a single layer stitched and needledconstruction which eliminates the necessity for a plural layerconstruction, a supporting layer and a double-yarn lock stitchconstruction. The fabric includes a needled entangled fiber and stitchconstruction that provides markedly high strength and avoids raveling ofthe stitches.

This invention concerns a non-woven blanket fabric of markedly highstrength that is produced by a greatly simplified and economical methodof manufacture.

The product and method of this invention constitute an improvement onthe blanket fabric disclosed and claimed in the Charles D. Owen PatentNo. 3,260,640, issued July 12, 1966, and assigned to BeaconManufacturing Company, the same assignee as the present application. Theblanket fabric covered by that patent employs in its manufacture threebatts of non-woven fibers, one of which constitutes a supporting layerthat is stitched sufficiently to hold it together and enablesatisfactory handling when combining the three batts. The stitchedsupporting batt is placed in between the other two non-woven batts andthe assembly then needled to integrate the three batts to produce thebasic blanket fabric which may then be napped to provide a conventionalblanket surface on both sides of the product. This three-componentblanket fabric has proven of substantial commercial value in theproduction of blankets on a large scale and offers very worthwhileadvantages over prior woven and non-woven blanket fabrics.

The purpose of the present invention is to simplify the construction ofthe blanket fabric and its method of manufacture and the productionequipment therefor. The present invention which has accomplished thisthreefold objective with substantial commercial significance is based onthe critical combination of a certain stitching operation thatcofunctions with a subsequent needling operation. The special stitchingoperation is carried out on a single batt of non-woven fibers and isfollowed by a needling operation that cofunctions with the stitchconstruction to effect a stabilization and interlocking of the stitchesand entanglement of the needled fibers so as to produce a product ofexceptionally high strength, uniformity and dimensional stability. Thestitches may be in the form of simple chain stitches using a singlestitching yarn or single yarn shogged stitches.

The strength of the product of the present invention utilizing the chainstitches is approximately one hundred percent greater than the strengthof the above prior Owen patent product. Where even greater strength isdesired in the blankets or the like produced from the fabric of thepresent invention, the shogged form of stitch is used, and for maximumstrength, the rows of stitches may be placed closer together.

Production of the three-component product disclosed and claimed in myabove Patent No. 3,260,640, requires three carding machines and threecross-lapping machines and a system of conveyors for forming, moving andassembling the respective three batts. The greatly simplified 3,395,065Patented July 30, 1968 ice procedure of the present invention sominimizes the equipment requirements that the operation may be carriedout with a single carding machine and a single cross-lapping machine.This results in reducing the equipment requirement by two-thirds and asimilar reduction in the required floor space. If desired, thesimplified arrangement of one carding machine and one cross-lappingmachine may be placed in line with one stitching machine followed by theneedling apparatus for efiicient commercial production.

It has been discovered, in accordance with this invention, that theorder of the stitching and needling operations is critical and cannot bereversed; that is, the single batt must be stitched first and thenneedled from both sides, and not vice versa, to obtain the markedlyimproved results of this invention. The needling operation stabilizesand locks the chain stitches and prevents them from raveling.

The stitch construction of the present invention which requires only asingle yarn constitutes a marked improvement over the George H. HughesPatent No. 3,329,552, issued July 4, 1967, and assigned to the sameassignee as the present invention. The product disclosed and claimed inthe Hughes patent is made with two sets of yarns for each row ofstitching. This produces a locked stitch construction and results in ahigh strength product but requires approximately twice as much yarn asthe product of the present invention.

Another practical advantage of the single batt stitched and needledfabric of the present invention, as compared with multiple-batt fabrics,is that it avoids any delamination problem and the usual loss of fiberwhich occurs with delamination, particularly when the fabric is piecedyed. Prior non-woven multiple-layer products have required stock dyeingof the fibers before stitching or needling. The single batt or singlelayer fabric of this invention avoids this requirement and permitsdyeing of the Whole fabric after completion of the stitching andneedling operations. This is preferable from an appearance standpointbecause it effects uniform color dyeing of the stitching yarn and fibersin the finished product.

While the improved non-woven fabric of this invention has been describedabove and will be described hereinafter with particular reference to anapped blanket material, it is to be understood that this novel fabricmay be utilized in the napped, unnapped or partially napped or otherwisesurface treated condition for uses other than blankets and thisinvention is not intended to be restricted to blankets.

Further details of the product, method and equipment that characterizethe present invention will be understood from the following moredetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded perspective view of theobverse side of the improved nonwoven fabric of this inventionillustrating the fabric in the three basic stages of its construction;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded perspective view of thereverse side of the fabric of FIG- URE 1 illustrating the fabric in thethree basic stages of its construction;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the obverse sideof a stitched batt of non-woven fibers illustrating an alternativestitch construction from that illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 and illustrating the reverse sideof the stitched batt of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a somewhat schematic top plan view illustrating one exampleof suitable apparatus for forming the improved non-woven fabric of thisinvention; and

FIGURE '6 is a somewhat schematic side elevational view taken along theline 6-6 of FIGURE 5 and illustrating more particularly the stitchingand needling apparatus shown in FIGURE 5.

Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIGURES 'l and 2both sides of the improved non-woven fabric constructed according tothis invention and generally indicated by the reference numeral 10.FIGURES l and 2, as described above, are exploded views illustrating theimproved non-woven fabric in the three basic stages of its construction.

The improved non-woven fabric 10 comprises a single, unitary,self-sustaining batt 11 of non-woven fibers 12 defining the entireultimate dimensions of the fabric 10 without other fibrous batts beingcombined therewith. The non-woven fibers 12 extend generally in thewidthwise direction of the fabric 10 to provide strength and stabilityto the fabric 10 in the widthwise direction.

The batt 11 of non-woven fibers 12 includes spacedapart rows of stitches15 embedded in the batt 11 of nonwoven fibers 12. Each row of stitches15 is formed from a single continuous stitching yarn 16. The rows ofstitches 15 extend in generally the lengthwise direction of the batt 11throughout the length thereof and pass from one face of the batt to theother face thereof to interlock the fibers 12 and provide strength andstability in the lengthwise direction.

T he specific form of stitching 15 utilized may be straight chainstitches, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, having straight chain loopcomponents on one side of the batt 11 and having straight-linecomponents 21 on the other side of the batt 11 which are parallel to thechain loop components 20. Alternatively, the rows of stitches 15, asshown in FIGURES 3 and 4, may comprise shogged stitches having straightchain loop components 24 on one side of the batt 11 and diagonal orshogged components 25 on the other side of the batt 11 which extendgenerally diagonally of the batt 11 alternately between rows of thechain loop components 24.

-It has been found by this invention that the straight chain stitches,illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, when combined with the other features ofthis invention, will provide sufiicient strength and stability to thefabric 10; however, if additional strength is desired, the alternativeshogged stitch construction, shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, may be utilized.Also, the rows of stitches 15 may be varied from approximately one-tenthof an inch apart to one-fifth of an inch apart to obtain more or lessstrength and stability in the non-woven fabric 10. Moreover, otherstitch constructions utilizing one stitch yarn in each row of stitchingmay be used.

Following stitching of the batt 11 of non-woven fibers 12, the stitchedbatt is then needled from both sides to form a multiplicity of needledfiber entanglements, generally indicated at 30, which extend from eachside of the stitched batt and interlock the fibers of the batt with eachother and with the stitches to prevent dislocation and raveling of thestiches and to increase strength and stability of the fabric. Thisneedling operation, as will be discussed more specifically hereinafter,is performed with a needling machine having barbed needles thereon whichact to entangle the fibers 12 of the batt 11 with each other and toentangle these fibers with the stitching yarns 16, so that the normallyraveling stitches 15 will be secured and interlocked with the fibers 12of the batt 11 to prevent raveling.

It has been found by this invention that a satisfactory product may beprovided when the stitched batt is needled to provide approximately 400needled fiber entanglements per square inch from each side of the fabric10.

The thus formed stitched and needled fabric construction may be nappedto raise the fibers on each side thereof, as broadly indicated at inFIGURES 1 and 2, to a sufficient height and density to cover thestitches 15 and the needled fiber entanglements 30 to provideconventional blanket surfaces thereon.

The n n-wo en fibers 12 utilized in the batt 11 may be any suitablesynthetic fibers including viscose, acrylic, polyester and polyarnidefibers, or natural fibers including cotton and wool, or other textilefibers, or blends thereof. The stitching yarns 16 utilized to form therows of stitches -15 may be of various natural or synthetic fibers orblends but continuous filament synthetic yarns, e.g., nylon yarn orpolyester yarn, are advantageous to obtain relatively high strength andto prevent breakage in the manufacturing operation and also to give goodtensile strength in the finished fabric.

Referring now to FIGURES 5 and 6, suitable apparatus is illustrated forforming the improved non-woven fabric 10 of this invention; however, itis to be understood that this apparatus is illustrative only and thatother suitable apparatus might also be used.

As shown in these figures, a conventional opening and feeding device,broadly indicated at 41, feeds the bulk fibers 12 in staple form to acard, garnett, or other suitable fiber opening device, broadly indicatedat 42, to form a batt of fibers 12 extending generally lengthwise of thebatt. This batt of fibers 12 from the card 42 is fed to a cross-lappingdevice 43.

The cross-lapping device 43 operates back and forth across a conveyor 46to deposit the batt of fibers 12 thereon. The cross-lapping device 43 ispreferably operated at a sufiicient speed, relative to the speed of theconveyor 46, so that the fibers 12 are deposited onto the conveyor 46 toform a batt 11 of desired thickness having the fibers 12 extendinggenerally widthwise thereof to provide strength and stability to thefabric 10 in the widthwise direction. The cross-lapped batt 1 1 isconveyed from the cross-lapping device 43 to another conveyor 47 whichmoves the batt 11 into a stitch-forming mechanism, illustrated somewhatschematically at 50, to form lengthwise extending rows of stitches 15 inthe batt 11 of fibers 12 to interlock the fibers 12 and to providelengthwise stability and strength to the fabric 10.

The stitch-forming mechanism 50 is of the type utilizing a single beam51 for supplying a single set of continuous stitching yarn, 16 to thestitch-forming instrumentalities for forming the stitch constructions,described above, utilizing a single set of yarns therein.

The stitch-forming mechanism 50 may be of the type having a bank ofside-by-side stitching needles which are adapted to pass through thebatt and form individual lengthwise extending rows of stitches 15 withthe abovedescribed stitch components therein.

The stitched batt is led from the stitch-forming mechanism 50 by a.conveyor 53 to a first needling apparatus, broadly indicated at 55. Theneedling apparatus 55 is of the conventional type utilizing a bank ofbarbed needles to reciprocate up and down to penetrate the stitched batt-11 from one side thereof and to form the needled fiber entanglements 30extending from one side thereof.

From the first needling apparatus 55, the stitched and partially needledbatt 11 is reversed and led through a second needling apparatus, broadlyindicated at 57, which is similar to the first needling apparatus 55 andis adapted to needle the material from the other side thereof to formneedle penetrations 30 extending from the other side of the material.

From the second needling apparatus 57, the stitched and after-needledfabric 10 may be led to any suitable winding or take-up apparatus,generally indicated in the drawings at 59, or it may be led directly toa napping apparatus, generally indicated in FIGURE 5 at 60, for nappingthe material to provide the napped surfaces 35 thereon.

While the above-described apparatus has been illustrated in a continuousoperation, it is to be understood that one or more of the individualmechanisms thereof may be separated and the material wound or otherwisecollected from a previous operation and fed thereto. Also, it is to beunderstood that a single needling apparatus could be utilized forneedling the material from both sides thereof.

In the drawings and specification, there have been set forth preferredembodiments of this invention and, although specific terms are employedthey are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the appendedclaims.

What I claim is:

1. An improved non-woven fabric adaptable for use as a blanket, saidfabric being particularly characterized by a single layer stitched andneedled construction which eliminates the necessity for a plural layerconstruction, a supporting layer and a double-yarn lock stitchconstruction, said fabric having an entangled fiber and stitchconstruction that provides markedly high strength and avoids raveling ofthe stitches, said fabric comprising:

(a) a single, unitary, self-sustaining batt of non-woven fibers definingthe entire ultimate dimensions of said fabric without other fibrousbatts being combined therewith and extending in generally the widthwisedirection of said fabric to provide strength and stability to saidfabric in the widthwise direction;

(b) elongate spaced-apart rows of stitches embedded in said batt offibers and each row of which is formed from a single continuousstitching yarn, said rows of stitches extending in generally thelengthwise direction of said batt throughout the length thereof andpassing from one face of said batt to the other face thereof tointerlock said fibers and provide strength and stability thereto in thelengthwise direction; and

(c) a multiplicity of needled fiber entanglement extending from eachside of said stitched batt and interlocking said fibers of said battwith each other and with said stitches to prevent dislocation andraveling of said stitches and to increase the strength and stability ofsaid fabric.

2. An improved non-woven fabric, as set forth in claim 1, in which saidfabric includes napped, raised fibers on each side thereof of sufficientheight and density to cover said stitches and said needled fiberentanglements to provide conventional blanket surfaces.

3. An improved non-woven fabric, as set forth in claim 1, in which eachof said rows of stitches comprises straight chain stitches havingstraight chain loop components on the other side of said fabric andstraight-line components on the other side of said fabric which areparallel to said chain loop components.

4. An improved non-woven fabric, as set forth in claim 1, in which eachof said rows of stitches comprises shogged stitches having straightchain loop components on one side of said fabric and diagonal or shoggedcomponents on the other side of said fabric which extend generallydiagonally of said fabric alternately between rows of said chain loopcomponents.

5. A method for producing an improved non-woven fabric adaptable for useas a blanket and being particularly characterized by a single layerstitched and needled construction which eliminates the necessity for aplural layer construction, a supporting layer and double-yarn lockstitch construction by providing an entangled fiber construction thatimparts markedly high strength and avoids raveling of the stitches, saidmethod comprising the steps of:

(a) forming a single, unitary, self-sustaining batt of non-woven fibersdefining the entire ultimate dimensions of said fabric without otherfibrous batts being combined therewith and orienting the fibers ingenerally the widthwise direction of the fabric to provide strength andstability to the fabric in the widthwise direction;

(b) forming elongate spaced-apart rows of stitches in the batt of fibersin generally the lengthwise direction throughout the length thereof andfrom one face of the batt to the other face thereof to interlock thefibers and provide strength and stability thereto in the lengthwisedirection and forming each row from a single continuous yarn; and (c)needling the stitched batt from both sides thereof to form amultiplicity of fiber entanglements which extend from each side of thestitched batt and which interlock the fibers of the batt with each otherand with the stitches to prevent dislocation and raveling of thestitches and to increase the strength and stability of the fabric.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,890,579 6/1959 Mauersberger66-192 3,112,552 12/1963 Smith 16180X 3,260,640 7/1966 Owen 161-80 X3,329,552 7/1967 Hughes 161-52 ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner.

R. L. MAY, Assistant Examiner.

